Author: sharondemaine

Two new Taster sessions coming up in August.

Tuesday August 20th 2-4pm and 6-8pm

Everyone welcome, please telephone Cathy to book 07388 898 827 or just turn up.

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What’s a Lummox? Or a Southport Leave?

Pendle & Craven Croquet Club hosted the Millennium Advanced AC tournament last weekend.  Fourteen competitors, representing six of the clubs within the North West, were split into two classes to try to ensure as much competitive play as possible.

In the A Class, run as a Flexible Swiss, the Manager allowed games to run their course, without any time limits. With 8 competitors the aim was to complete at least 5 rounds.  There were 6 entrants in the B class, playing an all play all block with 3 hour time limits.

Lee Hartley, from Fylde, triumphed in the A class, winning all 6 of his matches.  The B class was a much closer affair with 4 players going into the final round of games able to win the trophy.  The victor was Jim Allcock from Crake Valley, with 4 wins, including one over Phil Snowden, who also finished with 4 wins out of 5.

It was good to see new faces participating in their first Advanced level tournament. Congratulations to Andrew Gould (Pendle), Phil Snowden (Fylde) and  Ed Cheetham (Bowdon) who now appear in the World Rankings.

The weather was better than forecast, the lawns were playing well & the good spirited banter amongst the players was educational!>

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a Lummox is a clumsy, stupid person, perhaps a harsh comment to one who has just quit the lawn having made an error.  And the Southport Leave is when the turn in which Hoop 1 is run, ends with the clip being placed on Hoop 2.

The trophies were presented by the Manager, Angharrad Walters in bright sunshine.  Thanks were offered to Pendle & Craven Croquet Club for hosting the event, to RD Geotech for their sponsorship of the event, and to the competitors for their participation & good spirits.  Full results are available on croquetscores.com.

The lovely sunshine sealed the deal on a fun and friendly, although competitive, NW Federation Millennium AC Advanced tournament over the weekend. Expertly managed by Angharrad Walters, the eventual winners were Lee Hartley and Jim Alcock.

Plenty of light hearted banter, especially concerning the implications of Charles’ hat being worn forwards or backwards and how this affected the outcome of his shots.

Two new Taster sessions coming up in August.

Tuesday August 20th 2-4pm and 6-8pm

Everyone welcome, please telephone Cathy to book 07388 898 827 or just turn up.

Laughter could be heard across the lawns on Tuesday as the second session of “Croquet for Wellbeing’ took place at the club. Working in partnership with Social Prescribers from East Lancs Primary Care Network, these free sessions serve as an introduction to croquet but also provide an opportunity for people local to Earby to come together, meet new people and get some fresh air and light exercise into the bargain. “The sessions are very social and friendly and we hope that, as well as learning a new sport, we might also be helping people along in terms of their mental health and overall wellbeing” explains Sharon De Maine, our club chairman. Well it certainly felt that way on Tuesday, with a sunny atmosphere to match the weather and all nine players enjoying some of their new found skills. Although some of them were not strictly textbook as you can see in the photograph! If you, or anyone you know, might fancy coming down and having a go, please ask your GP or Social Prescriber for a referral. The sessions are from 1.30pm to 3pm every Tuesday until September 17th, and there will then be an Open Afternoon from 1.30pm on Saturday 21st September to celebrate the end of the initial pilot. The Club is proud to be pioneering such a worthwhile project in partnership with the NHS and we are very grateful to our supporters at the CVS and our funders at the Eric Wright Foundation.

The club is at the U3A open day 6th August in Skipton Town Hall, where U3A members can chat to club members about croquet. U3A members can then sign up for the summer Wednesday afternoon sessions from the 7th August.